Lessons Learnt from Photonics Pilot Lines: Strategic Focus and Sustainability
The article discusses key insights from existing pilot lines in photonics components and devices, emphasizing strategic issues, sustainability, technology roadmap, business models, and operational considerations. It also highlights the importance of project demonstrators and the synergy between technology development and customer needs.
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Presentation Transcript
Pilot Lines for Photonics Components and Devices: Lessons learnt from existing pilot lines Noori Nourshargh & Michael Lebby Industrial advisors to Photonics Unit DG CONNECT - European Commission 18 Jan 2019
Overview Project Reviewers for PIX4LIFE, MIRPHAB, PI-SCALE, PIXAPP Key Points for Pilot Lines Strategic issues, demonstrators, structure, open access, operational issues Final observations Key takeaways Yellow bar is the takeaway for each slide 2
PL Project Reviewer role PIX4LIFE, MIRPHAB, PI-SCALE, PIXAPP We read project reports & attend project review meetings! Discussions : Technology development, demonstrators, etc. Operational (manufacturing, scale-up) Business (sales & marketing, customers) Financial (self-sustainability) IP and Patent (freedom of manufacturing) Contingency planning (what if scenarios) Think like a start-up Where is the first 1M in sales coming from? Making sure pilot lines keep focus 3
Key points for Pilot Lines Unlike normal R&D projects, Pilot Lines are not simply about technology development! Their focus needs to be on Strategic issues & Sustainability Structure & Open Access Operational Issues 4
Strategic issues & Sustainability Technology roadmap and path towards commercial sustainability Ready for business will you be ready to sell product/service? Offering from pilot line is this something a customer wants? PL evolution over time new products? independence? PL library of material, process/device who owns? PL financial and business model for sustainability.. via sales Might also, include consideration of external financial resource e.g. Regional funding, Venture Capital, Corporate/customer? Have a pitch deck? Established ties/contacts early? Assessment of competitive differentiation of your pilot line with other international initiatives Competitive analysis? How unique are you? What is your value proposition? Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and milestones to assess progress and success of the pilot line Critical tool - use more Contributions to and impact of standards Could be differentiating, could be strategic? Is the plan for sustainability credible? 5
Project demonstrators Demonstrators need to do more than simply show case technology! Synergies between the demonstrators that you plan to develop and what the pilot line will offer Do you have good overlap? Criteria and process for selecting new demonstration/application cases, Customer input important Explain how the demonstrators contribute to future offering, and be a test case for validating the pilot line capabilities while prototyping is important, customer products/service are critical for sustainability Customer interest strong motivator
Structure of PL & Open Access Pilot line structure Clarification of architecture of pilot line and how this will constitute a single pilot line operation Multi-location needs to be seamless What is the physical distribution, interoperability, complementarity of the partner contributions to the PL ? Flexibility is good, focus toward a sustainable solution is tricky; details help Evaluate the maturity of the different platform technologies and assess this to commercialisation prospects Prioritizing for commercial success may not be obvious simple analysis helps Open access How to ensure Open Access to the pilot line? Pilot line should offer a low-barrier, open-access to everyone, especially European SMEs! Credible plans are needed for a workable structure & Open Access!
Operational (1 of 2) Operational guidelines Operations plan for running the pilot line? What is the plan to drive the pilot line operations towards industrial readiness? Operations manager with industrial/commercial experience valuable. Distributed sites can work well, but need to consider interoperability between sites, supplier management, expenditure profile and bill of materials. Risk analysis often not taken seriously. An internal review process is useful via senior staff (not involved in the project) from consortium members and business stakeholders to oversee and steer project towards sustainable pilot line operation. Key commercial decisions might be needed that require senior management approval. Monitoring KPIs and qualification of the products that will emerge from the pilot line important. Comparison between initial targets and actual results in key deliverables useful tool. What are your plans to convince potential pilot line customers that your technology vehicle is credible and of expected quality for commercial offering. Establishing credibility with customers is critical. Customers can fund, but can also take all your volume. Watch carefully! Plans must show scalability, control, quality
Operational (2 of 2) Operational guidelines Who will coordinate pilot line's publicity, and how to maximise impact & find customers? How will progress of the pilot line be communicated to all stakeholders? What fora do you plan on discussing the pilot line, especially major conferences and stakeholder meetings? PR is generally well done in existing pilot lines, but more is needed to convert leads to orders ! The project needs an experienced publicity & communication leader with commercial experience. What are the business KPIs for your pilot line? Perhaps the most important is actual number of paying customers and the total order values! Also, outreach to potential customers, impact of marketing activities for the pilot line technology, iterations of learning, competitive pricing, training for users of the pilot line. Tracking KPIs is key for success. What are the important operational KPIs to allow your pilot line to become a commercial success? Process capability, process monitoring, process control, reliability, quality, yield etc. All important KPIs and key for success. How will you show that the pilot line has freedom of manufacture, especially from technologies that may have been previously developed? IP review and status update important early in the project. File patents! Customers, KPI s, IP freedom!
Final observations All pilot lines are different! All have their own identities, opportunities and challenges. It s never too late to start thinking about commercial viability: Suggest Day 1! Customers are important, even at the beginning, they give motivation, focus and potential revenue! Being able to work effectively with parent organizations is important. Including making sure that IP is well thought out. Are you ready to create a pilot line business? 4 years is not really tons of time! Being focused on sustainability will give us a competitive edge for an expanding European Photonics Eco-System. Sustainability!
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